Book back support



Aug. 23, 1949. c. z. SUTTON BooK BACK 'SUPPORT Filed Nov, 427,` 1944 INVENTOR.

CHARLES ZOOK SUTTON #fram/ffy.

Patented Aug. 23, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOOK BACK SUPPORT Charles Zook Sutton, Piedmont, Calif.

Application NovemberZl, 1944, Serial No. 565,288

Claims.

This invention is concerned with supports for books and pertains more particularly to an aid in maintaining books in good condition and thereby extending their useful life. The invention finds particular usefulness in preventing the lower fore edge of the leaves of a closed book from sagging when the book is placed in an upright position.

Observation confirms that most bound books other than those bound in paper, have covers which extend beyond the periphery of the open edges of the pages so that the pages are protected. As a book stands on a shelf the lower edges of the covers and the back support the pages above the shelf at every point except the lower fore edge. Books are subject to shelf-wear and become dilapidated from merely standing upright on a shelf and this wear if further aggravated by that due to handling. Especially with thick volumes, the bound backs become broken from the sagging of the pages at the front. When the binding is shelf or other object upon which it may rest.

Eventually, the bottom of the pages become so frayed and rolled over that the book cannot be closed tightly, thereby permitting dirt and dust to sift in between the pages. The troubles caused by sagging of the pages are common to all bound books but are particularly destructive to expensive reference books and other fine books and bindings.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a book page support, whereby the diiliculties due to sagging of the pages are eliminated.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a combination book page support and place marker.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention reside in the particular arrangement of the components thereof as will be readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in reference to the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of two books looking toward the fore edges, one with a book page support of the present invention in position and one without a book page support, showing the sagging of the pages at the lower fore edge and the pulling and breaking of the binding at the top.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of a preferred embodiment of the combination book page support and place marker of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional View of the book page support as taken along the line III--III in Figure 2.

Referring to Figure l of the drawings, A denotes a book shown without a book page support. It will be noted that the lower fore edge I0 of the book A sags until the middle pages rest on the shelf, pulling on the top of the bound back II and eventually causing the back to break as well as leading to the other diiiiculties mentioned above.

B indicates a book having the book page support and place marker of the present invention in position. It is apparent that the pages I0 are properly supported at the lower front edge and that the bound back II is not pulled and deformed but is retained in its normal form. Thus, the diiculties caused by sagging of the pages are avoided and the useful life of the book is materially extended.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, the combination book page support and place marker of the present invention is generally designated as C and comprises a horizontal plate member I2 for supporting the pages of a book and a holding element I3 for maintaining said horizontal page-supporting member I 2 under the pages at the front of the book as well as for marking places in the book.

The page supporting member I2 has a width less than the distance between the covers of the book with which the book support is to be used. However, in most cases a width of about one inch more or less is most suitable since books of less than one inch in thickness do not have such prbolems as acutely as the thicker volumes. For very thick books, such as those having a thickness of greater than three inches, the page supporting member I2 may be wider to give greater support. The support is required principally at the midpoint between the covers hence the width of the member I2 is not of great importance.

The supporting plate member I2 has a thickness about equal to or slightly less than, the amount of overlap or overhang of the book covers beyond the marginal edge of the pages. Since this overhang in most books ranges from about one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, the thicka ness of the supporting member I2 is generally in this range, and, for example, may be three-sixteenths of an inch in total thickness.

The supporting plate member I2 may be formed of cardboard, metal, leather, plastic (i. e., polymerized resin), cloth, fiber, or other suitable materials, or combinations thereof.

The holding element I3 is preferably a at strip or band attached approximately along the center line of the page supporting memberV I 2 and adapted to be gripped `between the pages of a closed book directly above the supporting member I2. The holding element I3 is preferably flexible and is formed of a at strip of paper,

leather, Woven fabric, or other suitable material which in use will lie in the same plane as the pages of the closed book, but in some cases, string, cord, or the like may be used. The holding element I3 in addition to holding the supporting member I2 in position also acts to mark ones place in the book. For this latter purpose, the

strip forming the holding element I3 which isl placed approximately at the Center of the book adjacent the fore edge, may be divided at the upper end as indicated in Figure 2 by the broken lines I6 to provide markers for more than one place. The holding and marking element I3 further may be used for memoranda, publishers notes, advertising, etc.

As shown in Figure 3, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the horizontal page supporting member I2 comprises a cardboard or other stiffened block as a core I4 about which a paper strip I5 is wrapped and secured thereto. As indicated, one end I5a of the paper strip I5 is brought together with and secured to another portion I5b thereof, which remains free to form the holding and marking element I3', In this manner the juncture of portions I5a and I5b reinforces the only point of wear in the device.

While the above description is a full and complete specication of the best mode of carrying out the present invention, the examples given therein are merely illustrative of the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a book a book page support comprising a plate member for supporting the lower fore edge of the pages of a closed book and a retaining element attached to saidpage supporting member approximately along the center line thereof, adapted to be gripped between thepages of the closed book and maintain said plate member in operative position.

2'. In combination with a book, a book page 4 support and place marker comprising a plate member for supporting the pages of a book, said plate member having a width less than the distance between the covers of said book when closed, and a retaining element comprising a strip of sheet material attached to said page supporting plate member extending upwardly from the upper surface thereof, adapted to be gripped between the pages of the closed 4book maintaining said platev member in operative position and to mark a place in said book.

3. In combination with a book, a book page support and place marker comprising a plate member for supporting only the lower fore edge of the pages of a book, said plate member having a width of about one inch, and a retaining element attached approximately along the center line thereof to and extending upwardly from said supporting plate member adapted to be gripped between the pages of the closed book to maintain said plate member in operative position and to mark a place in said book.

4. In combination with a book, a device for preventing sagging of the pages of relatively thick books, the combination of a plate supporting member` and, as a holding element, a strip of sheet material attached approximately along the center of the supporting plate member adaptd ti? be gripped between the closed pages of said 5. A combination book page support and place marker comprising a horizontal page supporting member of about one-eighth to one-fourth inch i in thickness and about one inch in width and a ilexible holding element attached to said page supporting member adapted to be gripped between the pages of a book, said member and element being formed by wrapping a strip of sheet mate- ,i rial around a block and securing said strip to said block with one end of the said strip free to form said holding element.

CHARLES ZOOK SUTTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

